Showing Some International Love: 2015 World Junior Championship - Division I Group B Preview

Newly-promoted Hungary host this year's tournament and will look to extend their stay in Division I. France, Japan*, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine return for another go at getting promoted to Group A. Poland was relegated from Group A, and will look to make their stay in Group B a short one.

*I forgot that Great Britain was disqualified last year for using an ineligible player. Japan, despite finishing last year's tournament with no points, still stays up as they were considered the fifth place team.

Note: most information from the IIHF website.

Rosters

France

Goalies:

Name	Team
Raphael Garnier	HC Fribourg-Gotteron
Victor Goy	Chamonix Chamois

Defensemen:

Name	Team
Fabien Bourgeois	Amiens Gothiques
Loic Chapelier	Gap Rapaces
Pierre Crinon	Corpus Christi IceRays
Arnaud Faure	Grenoble Bruleurs de Loups
Kevin Maso	Morzine-Avoriaz Pengouins
Arthur Montenoise-Oudot	Dijon Ducs
Thomas Thiry	Geneve-Servette HC

Forwards:

Name	Team
Maurin Bouvet	Kenai River Brown Bears
Kevin Bozon	HC La Chaux-de-Fonds
Romain Chapuis	Grenoble Bruleurs de Loups
Robin Colomban	Briancon Diables Rouges
Fabien Colotti	Rouen Dragons
Loic Coulaud	Amiens Gothiques
Floran Douay	Geneve-Servette HC
Fabien Kazarine	Amiens Gothiques
Robin Lamboley	Roswell Bulldogs
Guillaume Leclerc	Madison Capitols
Fabien Metais	Amiens Gothiques
Benoit Valier	Reims Champagne
Malo Ville	Jokerit Helsinki

Hungary

Goalies:

Name	Team
Gergely Arany	MAC Budapest
Daniel Kornakker	Ocskay Academy Szekesfehervar

Defensemen:

Name	Team
Zsombor Garat	Boston Jr Bandits
Gellert Hruby	Dunaujvarosi Acelbikak
Tamas Laday	Spokane Chiefs
Bence Stipsicz	MAC Budapest
Mark Szaller	Ocskay Academy Szekesfehervar
Roland Vokla	Ocskay Academy Szekesfehervar

Forwards:

Name	Team
Mark Egyed	Ujpesti TE
Csanad Erdely	Ocskay Academy Szekesfehervar
Vilmos Gallo	Linkopings HC
Szilard Hamvai	Ocskay Academy Szekesfehervar
Erik Keresztury	Dusseldorfer EG
Ferenc Kocsis	Ocskay Academy Szekesfehervar
Daniel Mazzag	Ocskay Academy Szekesfehervar
Aron Reisz	Ocskay Academy Szekesfehervar
Kristof Schmal	MAC Budapest
Daniel Szabo	Ocskay Academy Szekesfehervar
Krisztian Szabo	Ocskay Academy Szekesfehervar
Istvan Terbocs	MAC Budapest
Richard Toth	MAC Budapest
Peter Vincze	Ocskay Academy Szekesfehervar

Japan

Goalies:

Name	Team
Shun Furukawa	Hachinohe Kodai Ichi HS
Atsushi Takase	Sensyu University

Defensemen:

Name	Team
Yohei Arai	Waseda University
Jiei Halliday	Saitama Sakae HS
Seiya Hayata	Breezy Point Northstars
Akira Iijima	Toyo University
Keigo Minoshima	Shirakaba Gakuen HS
Dai Ohba	Meiji University
Yusei Otsu	Nikko Ice Bucks

Forwards:

Name	Team
Yu Hikosaka	Topeka Roadrunners
Yushiroh Hirano	Tingsryds AIF
Junya Inui	Chuo University
Ryo Katsuragawa	Meiji University
Tomonari Koizumi	Chuo University
Rikiya Matsumoto	Hosei University
Yuki Miura	Rytiri Kladno
Yushi Nakayashiki	Kushiro Konan
Shuho Namioka	Kansai University
Jo Osaka	New England College
Hayate Sakamoto	Chuo University
Kohei Sato	North Iowa Bulls
Taiga Yamada	Toyo University

Kazakhstan

Goalies:

Name	Team
Valeri Sevidov	Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk
Yuri Volosenko	Snezhnye Barsy Astana

Defensemen:

Name	Team
Stepan Alexandrov	Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk
Ilya Gorozhaninov	Gornyak Rudny
Madiar Ibraibekov	Barys Astana
Vladimir Mezhebitski	Nomad Astana
Vladislav Nenakhov	Nomad Astana
Ivan Stepanenko	Snezhnye Barsy Astana
Stanislav Zinchenko	Snezhnye Barsy Astana

Forwards:

Name	Team
Alikhan Asetov	Snezhnye Barsy Astana
Dmitri Grents	Snezhnye Barsy Astana
Ivan Kinstler	Snezhnye Barsy Astana
Alexei Kiselyov	Nomad Astana
Yevgeni Korolinski	Snezhnye Barsy Astana
Nikita Mikhailis	Snezhnye Barsy Astana
Nikita Neznamov	Berkut Karaganda
Dmitri Presnov	Nomad Astana
Damir Ryspayev	Barys Astana
Kirill Savitski	Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk
Arkadi Shestakov	Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk
Sergei Stukalov	Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk
Kirill Yadryshnikov	Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk

Poland

Goalies:

Name	Team
Michal Kieler	Zaglebie Sosnowiec
Michael Luba	HK Poprad

Defensemen:

Name	Team
Remigiusz Gazda	KS Torun HSA
Marcin Horzelski	SMS Sosnowiec
Oskar Jaskiewicz	MMKS Nowy Targ
Mateusz Krawczyk	Zaglebie Sosnowiec
Marcin Horzelski	SMS Sosnowiec
Dawid Musiol	SMS Sosnowiec
Patryk Wsol	SMS Sosnowiec

Forwards:

Name	Team
Bartosz Fraszko	Cracovia Krakow
Mateusz Goscinski	SMS Sosnowiec
Jakub Jaworski	SMS Sosnowiec
Karol Kisielewski	Cracovia Krakow
Lukasz Krzemien	SMS Sosnowiec
Patryk Malicki	Unia Oswiecim
Dominik Nahunko	Zaglebie Sosnowiec
Radoslaw Sawicki	KH Sanok
Kamil Sikora	SMS Sosnowiec
Szymon Skrodziuk	SMS Sosnowiec
Dariusz Wanat	KH Sanok
Karol Wasinski	Polonia Bytom
Patryk Wronka	MMKS Nowy Targ

Ukraine

Goalies:

Name	Team
Danylo Yeliseyev	Platina Chisinau
Eduard Zakharchenko	HK Chelny

Defensemen:

Name	Team
Olexander Aleksandrov	Platina Chisinau
Vitali Andreikiv	Polonia Bytom
Andri Grygoryev	Red Bull Salzburg
Igor Merezhko	Red Bull Salzburg
Bogdan Piddubny	Derzhava Tambov
Denys Savchenko	SDYUSHOR Kharkiv
Volodymyr Varyvoda	Platina Chisinau

Forwards:

Name	Team
Anton Boikov	DYUSSH Kryzhynka
Kyrylo Bondarenko	Derzhava Tambov
Tymur Hrytsenko	DYUSSH Kryzhynka
Olexi Kostyuk	HK Chelny
Sergi Kuzmyk	Platina Chisinau
Vitali Lyalka	Kristall Berdsk
Vladyslav Luhovy	Platina Chisinau
Vadym Mazur	Red Bull Salzburg
Pavlo Naida	Portland Jr Pirates
Ivan Radetsky	DYUSSH Kryzhynka
Yaroslav Svyshev	SDYUSHOR Kharkiv
Yevgen Tymchenko	Titan Klin
Olexi Vorona	DYUSSH Kryzhynka

Schedule

December 14
Japan - France
Hungary - Poland
Ukraine - Kazakhstan

December 15
Poland - Ukraine
France - Hungary
Kazakhstan - Japan

December 17
Kazakhstan - France
Hungary - Ukraine
Poland - Japan

December 18
Ukraine - Japan
Kazakhstan - Hungary
France - Poland

December 20
Poland - Kazakhstan
Japan - Hungary
France - Ukraine

Notes

• Only one NHL connect to note: Former Devil and Flame Rich Chernomaz is the head coach of Hungary.
• Oldest and Youngest teams: every team's average age is 19
• Lightest team: Japan (163 lbs)
• Heaviest team: Hungary (185 lbs)
• Shortest team: Japan (5'9")
• Tallest team: tie - Hungary and Ukraine (6'0") 
• If Japan has another bad tournament and get relegated, they may need to take a long (Jiei) Halliday

Prediction

1 (Promoted) - Kazakhstan
2 - Poland
3 - France
4 - Hungary
5 - Ukraine
6 (Relegated) - Japan

This might be a three-horse race for promotion. Kazakhstan just missed promotion last year, but I say that they will make it this year. Poland and France will keep it interesting though, but both will end up short of promotion. I was reading up on Hungary and, while they may be a darkhorse this year, they are primed for a run next year. But that's still a year away, they'll do well enough to stay up this year. Ukraine is suppose to have a bad team, but I'm not sold on Japan being able to stay up. I say Ukraine does enough to end up in the fifth spot, while Japan suffers relegation.